From: V.C.

I made it through most of your book and all of your website and feel confident that I can my own contractor. Thanks!

I was wondering if you had an example of a time line of when to make your phone calls to the next sub that's needed. Example: foundation sub then framer then so on and so forth.

Thanks for you help.


Hi V.C.

Congratulations on your confidence.

Building your own home is all about communicating, and in the home building business, that's all about phone calls to subcontractors, and suppliers.

When you are in the process of estimating your cost to build your house, you will be talking to your subcontractors not only to get bids, but to discuss a rough time frame of when you need them.



When you are finally ready to break ground, you need to call each and every one of your subcontractors and discuss the time frame again, giving them an update on when the whole process will start.

Using what I call my "vertical time frame list", which can be found on the 1st page of Chapter 8 "Building the House," you and each of your subcontractors can narrow it down.

Once you start construction, the weatherman will try to screw up your scheduling, but hey, that's home building! Once the house is dried in, the weather isn't as much of a factor.

As each subcontractor finishes their job, you can assess the need for each subcontractor that follows and call them.

Ask that they call you too to keep you advised as to delays that they have incurred.

The following is from Chapter 8:

What is the proper sequence of steps in building the house, and how long will each take? Let's make a list of them.

1. Staking the lot and house: 1-3 hours
2. Clearing and excavation: 1-3 days
3. Ordering utilities, temporary electric service, and a portable toilet: 1 hour
4. Footings (steps 3 and 4 can be reversed). First inspection must be made before pouring: 1 day
5. Foundation and soil treatment, then foundation survey: 1 week
6. Rough-ins for plumbing, if on a slab, and inspection: 2-4 days
7. Slabs, basement, and garage: 1-2 days
8. Framing and drying-in: 1-3 weeks
9. Exterior siding, trim, veneers: 1-3 weeks
10. Chimneys and roofing: 2 days-1 week
11. Rough-ins can be done while steps 9 and 10 are in progress: 1-2 weeks
12. Insulation: 3 days
13. Hardwood flooring and underlayment: 3 days-1 week
14. Drywall: 2 weeks
15. Priming walls and "pointing up": 2 days
16. Interior trim and cabinets: 1-2 weeks
17. Painting: 2-3 weeks
18. Other trims, such as Formica, ceramic tile, vinyl floors: 1 day-1 week
19. Trimming out and finishing plumbing, mechanical, and electrical and hooking up utilities: 1-2 weeks
20. Cleanup: 2-3 days
21. Carpet and/or hardwood floor finish: 3 days-1 week
22. Driveway (if concrete, can be poured anytime after step 14): 1-3 days
23. Landscaping: 1-3 days
24. Final inspections, surveys, and closing of construction loan and interim loan: 1-3 days
25. Enjoying your home: a lifetime

I converted the above time frame into a (partial) horizontal line time frame as seen below. I think this is what you were thinking about. You can finish this little job if you have the time.



Good luck,

Carl